Land Bank provides vacant housing relief

A local non-profit is working hard to curb the problem of vacant properties in the Pine Hills neighborhood.

The Albany County Land Bank Corporation is an organization funded through the New York State Attorney General’s office and Albany county that acquires properties foreclosed by the county for non-payment of taxes, and renovates, sells, and/or demolishes them.

Abandoned houses and unused lots can be a burden on neighbors, visually and financially.

Vacant properties within 150 feet of a house can have a negative effect of property value, according to the Executive Director of the Land Bank, Adam Zaranko, who presented about the organization at the Pine Hills Neighborhood Meeting on Thursday to a crowd of about 20.

Out of a total of 640 properties, the corporation owns 460 in Albany, including four in Pine Hills

The houses, 683 State St., 183 Quail St., 268 Yates St., and 558A Park Ave., were amassed by the Land Bank recently in a batch of 265 properties.

“A lot of these properties have been vacant for five to 10 years,” Zaranko said.

According to Zaranko, the Land Bank acquires properties from the county at one dollar a batch, then does renovations to most of them before they are sold. Some require more extensive rehabilitation, and some are demolished and sold as vacant lots.

Prior to the founding of the Land Bank in 2014, Albany County auctioned off foreclosed properties to whoever paid the most money.

The properties are only sold to those who have gone through the organization’s vetting process.

“We don’t just sell to the highest bidder,” Zaranko said. The Land Bank sells to buyers they feel are able to take on the task or renovation and maintenance, and have a good plan to improve the property. They filter buyers through various forms and applications to ensure the properties do not fall back into disrepair.

President of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association Virginia Hammer thinks the corporation is beneficial to the neighborhood.

“I love the idea of the Land Bank,” she said, “It’s an amazing organization.”

Hammer acknowledged that there is a problem with abandoned houses in the neighborhood, but not all of these properties are eligible for transfer to the Land Bank.

So-called “Zombie Houses” are foreclosed homes that are vacant, and some of those are being transferred to the Land Bank.

Vacant houses that would not be characterized as ‘”zombie houses,” include a property at 262 Partridge St.

“It’s an example of a real problem,” Hammer said, adding that the property is a burden to its neighbors

For the Land Bank to take control of a property, however, it has to be foreclosed on by the county due to lack of tax payment, meaning zombie houses owned by banks can sit vacant for years without upkeep.

Hammer’s concern was echoed by Albany County Legislator Doug Bullock, who was at the neighborhood meeting listening to Zaranko’s presentation. Bullock co-sponsored the bill that created the Land Bank in 2014, and complained about vacant properties on his street.

“We’ve got a lot of abandoned properties in the city of Albany,” Bullock said, totaling them at 900, 440 more than what the Land Bank owns.

As for Hammer, she’s hopeful.

“I don’t think any program is going to be able to fix all the problems,” she said, but she thinks the Land bank is a step in the right direction. “It’s a really good thing.” -30-

Kyle Pratt

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